On Friday, Dec. 8, we will celebrate the 2023 College and Career March!
On Friday, December 8, more than 1,000 students — from 11 NYC Outward Bound high schools — will take part in the 2023 College and Career March. The purpose of the College and Career March is to ignite a sense of possibility; encourage students to dream big and pursue their passions; and to support the critical work done every day to help students work towards graduating with a high-quality postsecondary plan.
This year, in response to feedback by our network schools, we have rebranded the event to include both ‘college’ and ‘career,’ — to more fully incorporate the postsecondary experience and celebrate not only the majority of our students who end up going directly to college, but also those who have chosen an alternate postsecondary path. The annual event is an inspiring ritual that helps establish postsecondary planning in participating schools, reminding every student that with perseverance, resilience, hard work — and the necessary school support — each of them can graduate and go on to lead fulfilling, purposeful and economically secure lives.
For many years, seniors participated in the March by mailing the final pieces of their college applications — but now, since the majority of college applications are completed online, most students opt to mail thank you notes to family members, friends, coaches, counselors and mentors to recognize the support systems that have helped them through the postsecondary planning process.
See highlights from 2022 including media coverage from this special day.
The College March is an annual tradition started at WHEELS and spread by NYC Outward Bound Schools. It helps establish college-going cultures and postsecondary planning in participating schools, reminding every student that with perseverance, resilience, hard work — and the necessary school support — each of them can graduate with a college acceptance in-hand and go on to lead fulfilling, purposeful and economically secure lives. The December date gives seniors a deadline to work toward in submitting their college applications on time.
College March Milestones
2011
Assistant principal, Jenny Rodriguez at WHEELS conceives the College March and launches the first march at WHEELS, a NYC Outward Bound School in Washington Heights. Capital One Bank and the United States Postal Service (USPS) support the launch.
2012
NYC Outward Bound Schools spreads the ritual to all of its network schools with support from Capital One Bank and USPS.
2014
President Obama mentioned WHEELS’ College March in his 2014 State of the Union address. With our support, schools across the country replicate the College March and it doubles in size.
2015
We present the College March alongside Capital One Bank at the National College Access Network Conference to further share the practice with other schools.
2016
We partner with the NYC Department of Education’s College Access for All and NYC Mayor’s offices to expand the College March to even more NYC public schools.
2017
Edutopia joins the WHEELS College March and creates a short documentary.
2020
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we celebrated our first-ever virtual College March On Friday, December 11, 2020! This date also marked the 10th anniversary of the College March and the largest to date, with more than 2,000 high school seniors from across the country celebrating together on Zoom! Watch a recording of the 2020 College March.
2023
The College March is rebranded as The College and Career March to be more inclusive of all postsecondary options. The tradition continues to serve as a powerful symbol of the idea that every student, regardless of background or circumstance, can graduate with a high-quality postsecondary plan, prepared to thrive.
Countdown to the 2023 College and Career March
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Our Partners
We are grateful to our College March partner Capital One Bank, who has been supporting this event since 2011. From deep employee involvement, to strategic advisement and financial support, Capital One has been a true partner in implementing and growing the College March.
Check out Capital One’s inspiring video about the partnership.
And each year, we are also extremely grateful for our partners at the United States Postal Service who are at each of the marches in New York City accepting students mail and making sure it will be delivered safely.
Still have questions? Visit our FAQs.
